If you like having lazy weekend mornings but still want a delicious, warm breakfast, then you should definitely try out these yeasted overnight pancakes.

This recipe is from one of the latest books I’m reviewing: Homemade Decadence. Book review and recipe below!

If you follow other food blogs, you’ve probably come across Joy the Baker and you’ve maybe even already heard of this book (it’s all over the internet – even Sally from sallysbakingaddiction.com went to one of Joy’s book signings).

Since I am an occasional visitor of joythebaker.com, I already kind of knew what to expect when receiving this book. My mom was in the kitchen though when I opened the package, and the second she saw she didn’t spare any criticism: “Ohhh man! That cake looks disgusting! Who puts whole pretzels on a cake?!” Though I don’t feel as strongly as she does, I do agree that the cover photo doesn’t look “decadent” like the title suggests. To me, that recipe and that photo look pretty cheap.

That being said, I don’t think that the cover photo represents the rest of the book very well. Inside, there are tons of delicious and simple recipes that aren’t sugar-bombs or coated with pretzels or anything similar. Some of the ones that look particularly appetizing are the French onion quiche; dark chocolate, pistachio, and smoked sea salt cookies; chocolate-dipped banana bread biscotti; and the salted dark chocolate and orange ice cream. The whole book has a total of 125 recipes, so there’s bound to be something for sweet teeth of all tastes.

For the most part Joy’s recipes seem very good, but I didn’t like some of the pictures included in the book. I think one of the selling points on this book was that there is a photo accompanying every recipe, but I feel like that’s kind of misleading because some of the photos are just of the ingredients, not the final product. I guess these photos are just added for artistic purposes, or maybe Joy just didn’t have good shots of the final products. To me, it felt like these ingredients photos were just placed in the book to say that there’s a picture for every recipe.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. Maybe you could check out Joy’s blog first, just to see if it’s the type of baking that you’re into — see if her recipes interest you. I like her book because the recipes are pretty simple without being too boring. The ingredients are often ones that I already have on hand, or else I just need to buy some fresh fruit or cream cheese. The ingredient lists aren’t long and her aim is to allow everyone “to feel confident in the kitchen.” She wants us “to make scones for the first time, dust off that ice cream maker… and conquer your fear of meringue.”

If you’re still not sure whether or not to buy the book, just try this recipe. Just as a bit of a “warning”, these are made with yeast and have a slightly different flavor than regular buttermilk pancakes. I’m not exactly sure how to describe the taste, but I guess it’s a bit more like bread. Regardless, my family and I still loved them!

In a small bowl or cup, combine yeast and warm milk and let stand for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, sift together flours, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. When the milk and yeast are ready, add that too, along with the butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix just until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in your fridge overnight or allow to stand at room temperature for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

The next morning, take out the batter and let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Heat a skillet over low heat. Coat the pan with a bit of butter or oil. Drop a large spoonful of batter for each pancake. Batter will be thick, pancakes will turn out light and fluffy. Make sure the pan doesn’t get too hot; these pancakes need to cook slowly and evenly since they’re so thick.

Notes

Make sure your bowl is large enough for the batter to double in size, otherwise the batter will overflow in your fridge! As a precaution, you can also place a baking sheet underneath the bowl.